Newspaper-wrapper machine



(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet I.

H. J. WIGKHAM.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 3.

H. J. WIOKHAM.

Newspaper Wrapper Machine. No. 233,450. Patented Oct. 19, 1880.

Wiiqesses. I K/E HIIK hflbmlnvlln mb' N.PEI'ERS, PNOTO-LITHOGRAPHER,WASHINGTON. D C.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

H. J. WIOKHAM. Newspaper Wrapper Machine. No. 233,450. Patented Oct. 19,1880.

I Y/E inf. aloflwgiezzflw N.PE\'ERS, PNOTO-LITHOGRAFNER. WASHXNGTUN. I)C -(Ro Modem 6 Sheets-Sheet 5.

H. J. WIGKHAM.

Newspaper Wrapper Machine.

No. 233,450. Patented Oct. 19,1880.

S S s M v 0 I, Q r

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

H. J. WIGKHAM. Newspaper Wrapper Machine. No. 233,450. Patented Oct.19,1880.

:[fP/E JED K 4%? my I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE J. WIOKHAM, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

NEWSPAPER-WRAPPER MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,450, dated October19, 1880.

Application filed J one 5, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HORACE J. WIGKHAM, of Hartford, county of Hartford,State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement in Machines for theManufacture of Newspaper- Wrappers, of which the following description,in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for forming newspapenwrappers. Inthis my invention the material from which the newspaper'wrapper's are tobe cut is wound upon a reel in the form of a web or strip of the widthdesired for the wrapper. This web or strip is automatically carriedforward under certain reciprocating gummers,that descend upon and applygum transversely to the said web or strip,preferablyin a'curved line.This web or strip is then carried forward beneath a suitable cutter,which descends and severs the said web or strip transversely. Thiscutting mechanism does not make simply a straight out, but is so shapedthat it cuts from the web such a shaped piece of paper as leaves, inthis instance, the ungummed end of the wrapper straight and the gummedend curved. The gum applied transversely or distributed upon this web orstrip has a chance to dry, in a measure, before the said gummed portionarrives in position for the web or strip to be severed near it. The saidgunimed blanks so severed from the web or strip are, in practice,discharged upon an endless belt of considerable length, upon which thewrappers are thoroughly dried, and from which they are gathered andbunched. The waste material of the strip or web, formed by severing it,as before described, is automatically engaged by a pair of nippers orequivalent device and withdrawn from the machine. The waste paper ofthismachineis very small, and the machine is rapid and efficient in itsoperation, and by it the Government stamp is applied while the paper isin its web or strip form.

The particular features and mechanisms in which my invention consistsare more detinitely and specifically set forth at the end of thedescription of this machine.

Figure 1 is a front-end elevation of the machine with thepaper-supplying and tension mechanism removed, the driving-pulley at theright hand being omitted. Fig. 2 is a righthand side elevation of Fig.1, the cross-heads and part of the frame work being in section. Fig. 3represents details of the ratchet mechanism and other parts broken awayfrom the right of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents, in two views, theratchet-wheel for operating the endless belt upon which the finishednewspaperwrappers are delivered. Fig.5 is a longitudinal section takenthrough the center of Fig. 1. Fig.6 is a detail of the gum-box. Fig. 7is adetail of the mechanism for clamping and pulling along the web ofpaper. Fig. 8 is a crosssection of the gage-bars for the edges of theweb of paper; Fig.9, a top view of the machine, the gum-box beingremoved and the cross-head and the cutting-plunger being broken out;Fig. 10, a rear elevation of the upper part of the machine, showing thecutter for severing the web or strip of paper into newspaper-wrappers;Fig. 11, a side elevation of the frame of the machine shortened bybreaking it away centrally, the frame having connected with it the rollof paper, the tension mechanism for keeping the paper taut, and thewrapper-receiving belt; Fig. 12, details of the pad for the stamp-diesand their holdingblocks; Fig. 13, details of the stamp-dies; Fig. 14, aplan of the cutters for severing the paper strips; Fig. 15, a detail ofthe nipper for pulling away the waste; Fig. 16, a top View of the undermembers of the cutter or cutter-bed; Figs. 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21,details to be referred to; and Fig. 22 represents the waste-pieceremoved from between the ends of adjacent wrappers.

The frame a, of proper shape to sustain the working parts, has a topplate, b, a rigid cross-head, b, a beam, 11 to support the lower member,W, of the wrappercutter, a yoke, b, to receive within it and guide theslide-bar 12 to the lower end of which are attached the curved blades bN, to shape the gum med end of the wrapper, and the straight cutters 0rblades 1)", to form the ungummed or squareends of the said wrappers.

The main shaft 0 of the machine, driven in any usual Way by power, has apinion, c, which engages a toothed gear,c on the primary camshaft c Thisshaft has a cam, 2, which strikes a rod on a lever, 0 connected by arod, 0

ICO

with an arm, 0 of the rock-shaft 0', (see Fig. 5,) which at its otherend has attached to it the arm 0, provided with the nippcr 0 (see Fig.15,) which at the proper times, as will be hereinafter described, engageand draw from the machine the pieces of waste paper made by cutting theweb of paper (1 into newspaperwrappers.

The cam 3 on the shaft 0 strikes a roll on the arm d of a rock-shaft,having arms d connected by links (I with the sliding boxes 01, whichcarry the gumming-roller d, the said boxes, as well as the boxes (1 forthe gummingroller (1 sliding on guide-bars d. The boxes d are connectedby links (I with arms (1 0f a rock-shaft, (1'', provided with an arm,(1, actuated by the cam 4.

The Government staniping'die e, secured to a slide, e, having a togglejointed link, 6 e, is operated by a cam, 0 as in the United StatesPatent No. 177,048, granted to me May 2, 1876.

In this present machine the cross-head b, the stamp-inking devices, thegum-box e", and the cross-heads a to which are attached the gummers g gand the mechanism for reciprocating the said cross-heads, are also allas in the said patent. The pinion f on the shaft 0 engages the pinionfon and rotates the shaft f which, as in the patented machine referredto, carries the cam that operates the inking devices. This shaft f isalso provided with a cam,f that operates the lever f, pivoted at f,which is attached at its other end in a yielding manner, by means of aspring, f, and a rod,f", with a lever, f connected at f (see Fig. 10)with the slide 1/, which carries the cutting-blades, the said lever fhaving its fulcrum upon a link,f, pivoted at f on the rigid part I) ofthe frame.

Upon the platform b, beneath the gum-box, are placed two guides, y, andextending across between these guides are two stripper-plates, g 9provided with curved openings 5, shaped substantially in accordance withthe shape of the gummers g g, which are made to descend through theopenings of the said stripper upon and so as to apply gum to the web ofpaper at the desired intervals apart, according to the length ofthenewspaper-wrappers to be formed, the said gummers each operatingsuccessively upon the web at the same place, thereby inswing a thoroughgumming action. The web, or it might be termed a strip of paper, thewidth of the wrapper to be made, which is to he gummed, stamped, andthen severed into newspaper -wrappers, with one end curved, passes froma reel, h, under a tension'spoohh, thence over a leading-roll, h under astraightening-roll, h", supported in an adj ustable frame, M, which isheld in a more or less elevated position with relation to the surface ofthe rollers h I2 by means of a thumb-screw, It, and a slotted bar, h,projected forward from the top of the frame h.

The ears 6 of the frame it at the rear of the Straightening-roller I1have a small roller, 1',

which bears upon the under surface of the web of paper, the said rollersh i removing from the said web all wrinkles or curves which may be in itby reason of its having been wound 7o closely upon the roller h.

The strap or cord 6 and springs i i connected with the arm 2', whichcarries the spool h. prevents the web from unwinding too rapidly, andalso takes up the slack in the web or strip of paper extended backwardfrom the gum-box and under the cross'head I). At each side of themachine are edge-gages j j, which receive and guide the edges of the webor strip d of paper, one of said edge-gages being shown in section, Fig.8.

The eccentric j (see Fig.2) at the end of. shaft 0 is connected by alink, j with an arm, j", on a rockshaft, j, having an arm, 3' which, bya link,j, is attached to a carriage, I, having its end fitted to ride inguidewayj in the side frame of the machine, as slides the crosshead of apiston in a steam-engine. The comnected ends of the arm j are broken offin Fig. 2, the. size of the sheet of drawings noto permitting them toremain, but are shown at the upper part of Fig. 3. This carriage f has arock-shaft, 1:, (see Fig. 9,) provided at its-| center with a clamp, k,preferably rubber clothed, which, at the proper time, is thrown 5 downupon the web or strip of paper between the gum med portions of itssurface, and is there held while the carriage is moved forward, theclamp acting to pull the web or strip intermittingly through the machineand from the reel.

The shaft k has an arm, k connected with a strong spring, 15, whichholds the clamp k down upon the paper when the said shaft is notoperated upon positively to lift the said clamp. At the right hand ofthe said shaft k is an arm, k, which, as the said carriage is movedforward, is struck by the end of a screw, ii, in the stationary bracketk, the said screw turning the shaft 7:, lifting the clamp k from thepaper, and causing a finger, k, on the said shaft (see Fig. 7) to becaught by the notched part k of an elbow-lever, k pivoted on the saidcarriage, and provided with an adjusting-screw, k", which, as thecarriage arrives near the cross-head b, meets the stop l, turns thelever it, releases the finger k, and permits the spring k to operate theshaft and throw the clamp k down. Immediately in front of the cross-headb are dogs I on a rod, .12, having their lower ends held in contact withthe web or strip of paper by a spring, l except as the gummed part ofthe paper arrives near said dogs, when they are lifted by means offingers l on a shaft, l, of the carriage j During the forward motion ofthe carriage the fingers I ride over the projections 6 of the dogs; butas the carriage moves backward the notched portions of the said fingersengage the projections 6 and temporarily lift the dogs from contact withthe paper. At the forward ends of the side-guides j are fingers m, whichprevent thepaper from rising, and below the paper is a yieldingsheet-metal bed, m which supports the web or strip of paper quite up tothe stationary member b of the cutting mech anism. The paper to be cutis clamped upon this stationary member 11 by a clamp, m having a rodacted upon by a spring, on, and carried in a socket-piece of the slideb". At each side of a cross-bar, m of the slide, and in line with thisclamp, are attached the cutters b b b, shaped as shown. (See Fig. 14..)

The stationary or lower member of the cutter is made narrow, and asshown in top view (see Fig. 16) and side view, (see Fig. 17,) and thecutters descend each side of it. This lower member constitutes acutting-bed, b

The pieces of papercut out by the said cutters and left as waste arerepresented in Fig. 22 by the letter 00 The nippers 0 before referredto, catch and remove these waste pieces 00 thus formed. As the nippersdescend they are held open, as in Fig. 15, bymeans of the catch 12, andas the nippers pass over the end of the waste pieces m catch 12 strikesthe finger 13, (see Fig. 9,) which moves the catch, and permits thespring 00 to act on the arm 14 of one of the nipper-legs, and closesthenippers upon strip m Now the nipper is made to rise, drawing thewaste pieces a from the cutters, and as soon as the nipper reaches itshighest position the portion 14 of the nipper strikes the point of thescrew or stop as, opens the nipper, and causes the arm 14 to be againcaught by the catch 12, which holds the nipper open until again closed,as before described.

The endless belt upon which the newspaperwrappers are delivered whenformed by the cutting-out devices, as hereiubefore described, isindicated at 111. (See Fig. 11.) It is extended about rollers m mconnected with a proper frame-work near the right-hand end of themachine, or that end of it shown in Fig. 2. The opposite end of thisbelt, which may be twenty or fifty feet long, will be passed oversuitable rollers to keep it taut, and the said belt will pass preferablythrough a sort of box having sides m to prevent lateral displacement ofthe wrappers, all in usual manner. This belt m derives its intermittingstep-bystep movement from a ratchet, at, having twenty-six teeth, whichwill be placed on the shaft carrying the roller m. This ratchet isengaged by a pawl, W, on a pawl-carrying lever, m connected by a link, mwith an arm, at, projecting from the rocking shaft j, the saidconnections being adjustable in order to enable the pawl m to move theratchet the. proper distance, according to the uniform distance that itis desired that one wrapper shall fall short of the sealed flap orgummed end of, the wrapper previously made and deposited on the belt m.It is desired that as each twentyfifth wrapper is deposited on the saidbelt the latter should have given to it a movement in excess of thetwenty-four movements previously given to it, to thus make a greaterspace between the row of wrappers to indicate where the same may begathered up to form bunches of twenty-five wrappers. This is done in thefollowing manner: At the rear of the ratchet m and fast on the sameshaft n is a ratchet, it, having but one tooth, a A pawl, WP, on an arm,n, is reciprocated by link a connected with an arm, n, of the rock-shaftj, over a distance twice as great as the pawl m, but the pawl aoperating on the smooth periphery of the one-toothed ratchet, exceptjust after the twenty-fifth wrapper is laid, when the pawl n engages thetooth n and turns it and the shaft on which the said ratchet m n arefixed, turning the same for a distance equal to twice the distance thesaid shaft n would have been turned by the pawl m, such extra distanceof movement placing the first wrapper of each bunch of twenty-fivewrappers at a greater distance from the twenty-fifth wrapper than thatbetween any two wrappers from the first to the twenty-fifth.

The cam t and arms t t operate the rollers 5, that supply the ink to thestamp e, the said rollers and their sliding carriage being all ascommon.

Fig. 12 shows the leather or other removable bed or impression pad orsurface, which is secured to the cross-beam b to oppose the upwardthrust of the die 6. This pad is secured to a plate, w fitted into agnideway, 10 at the lower side of the said cross-head, and held againstlongitudinal movement by a suitable spring or locking device, 10. Belt10 drives the roller 8 in the gum-box.

I have provided the machine with shipping mechanism to automaticallystop it should the web or strip become bunched up in front ofthecutting-out blades or devices. This mechanism is shown in Figs. 1, 9,18, 19, 20, and 21, Fig. 18 being a section of Fig. 19 on the dottedline, Fig. 19.

At the side of the frame 1 have placed a rocker-shaft, p, with which isconnected an arm, 19, having fingers 19 19 which bear upon or rest closeto the top of the strip or web as it is moved through the machine. Atthe front of this rock-shaft is a notched finger, 19 (most clearly shownin Fig. 21,) that engages a lug, 12 on a plate, 19 connected by a screw,1)", with the regular shipper-lever 0, which has its upper end heldoutward between the outward stop, p and a shoulder of the finger 10 asin Figs. 1, 9, and 21.

If the paper becomes bunched or clogged under the fin gers 10 or 19 therocker-shaft p is partially rotated to turn the finger p in thedirection of the arrow near it, withdrawing the said finger from the lugp releasing the shipper-handle 0, and permitting the spring 19 heldcompressed when the shipper is locked outward, to act and throw theshipper-lever in at its upper end, causing it, through its connectionsof usual construction, to disengage the usual friction-pulleys and stopthe machine.

The hand-lever 0 at the right-hand side of the machine is to enable theoperator, on the discovery of an error in the machine, to instantly stopit without being obliged to go to the opposite side of it.

I claim- 1. In a news-paper-wrapper machine. a reel or shaft to supporta strip or roll of paper of the Width of the newspaperwrapper to beformed. the glimmer to apply gum across the said strip, feedingmechanism to move the said strip of paper forward, and the cutting:mechanism to sever the said strip transversely near the line of gumapplied to it, to shape the grummed end of one and the ungummed end ofan adjacent wrapper, substantially as described.

2. In a newspaper-\vrapper machine, a grammer to apply gum upon andacross the stripot' paper at intervals, as set forth, as the strip isfed through the machine, means, substantially as described, to print orstamp on the said strip between the said gummed portions a devieesnch asthe \vell-lt'nown so-called Government stamp,and cutters to subsequentlysever the said gummed and printed and stamped or embossed strip near the'unimed portions, the said cutters being; shaped to remove a portion ofthe strip and shape the rear end ofone and the sealing, and gununed endof an adjacent wrapper, substantially as described.

3. In a newspaperwrapper machine, the gum-box and rollers and the twogummers, to which the said rollers supply the desired amount of gum,combined with the plates g 9 separated from each other for a distancesubstantially equal to the length of the wrapper to be made, to therebyenable each glimmer to descend upon the said strip at the same place toefl'eetuallyand gradnallygum it transversely, as set forth.

4. In a newspaperwrapper machine, the gummer to gum the striptransversely, combined with the sliding carriage and its clamp, andmeans, substantially as described, to operate the clamp to enable it toengage the gummed strip at points between the trans verse lines of gum,to move the strip forward intermittingly, and to release or lift theclamp from the said strip when the carriage is moved backward to thuspass over the gum med parts, substantially as described.

5. The gnmming mechanism to gum the strip and teeding mechanism to movethe strip forward, combined with the dogs to bear upon and preventretrograde or backward movement of the gummed strip, and movablefinget-s1, to lift the said dogs as the gummed part of the strip passesunder them, substantially as described.

6. In a newspaper-wrapper machine, the gumming mechanism to apply gum tothe strip at intervals transversely, and mechanism to feed the g'ulumedstrip forward of the cuttingblades I) b b" and cutting-bed b, to cut thesaid gummed strip transversely and shape the gunnned end of one wrapperand the ungnmmed end of an adjacent wrapper, as described.

7. In a newspaper-wrapper machine, the cutters I) b b and bed b to cut;from the strip transversely at intervals an irregular waste piece ofpaper, combined with nippers to automatically seize and remove the saidwaste pieces from the cutter-bed, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

8. In a newspaper-wrapper machine, the shipper-handle 0 and lever or armp and its fingers, to rest above the moving web or strip, and adapted tobe lifted when the web or strip becomes bunched up under the fingers,combined with the rock-shaft p and means, substantially as described, tohold and retain the said shippenlever, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing, witnesses.

HORACE J. WICKHAM.

\\'itnesses:

M. S. CHAPMAN, 1] mm: It. MILLS.

